William Clothier (tennis)
Full name | William Jackson Clothier |
---|---|
Country (sports) | United States |
Born | (1881-09-27)September 27, 1881 Sharon Hill, PA, United States |
Died | September 4, 1962(1962-09-04) (aged 80) Philadelphia, United States |
Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
Int. Tennis HoF | 1956 (member page) |
Singles | |
Highest ranking | No. 4 (1906, ITHF)[1] |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Wimbledon | 4R (1905) |
US Open | W (1906) |
Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
US Open | F (1912) |
William 'Bill' Jackson Clothier (September 27, 1881 – September 4, 1962) was an American tennis player.
Biography
William J. Clothier was a top American tennis player in the early 1900s and reached the singles final of the United States Championships three times. In his first final appearance in 1904 he lost in three straight sets to compatriot Holcombe Ward. Two years later, in 1906, Clothier achieved his greatest success by emphatically beating Beals Wright in the final in three straight sets at the Newport Casino. This despite breaking his pelvic bone in a riding accident earlier that year.[2] His last appearance in the final came in 1909 when he lost in five sets to William Larned who claimed his fifth singles title.[3]
Clothier won the intercollegiate tennis singles and doubles championship in 1902 playing for Harvard, where he was a three sport athlete and also played hockey and football.
He was a member of the winning USA Davis Cup Team in 1905 and 1909 and won both his singles matches in the 1909 final against the British Isles.[4]
Together with his son, William J. Clothier II, they two won the national father-son title held at Longwood Cricket Club twice in 1935 and 1936.[5]
Clothier was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1956 and was elected its first President in 1954, a position he held until 1957.[1]
Clothier also played amateur ice hockey from 1900 to 1904 with the Quaker City Hockey Club in Philadelphia and the Harvard Crimson intercollegiate team in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Clothier is interred in the family plot at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Summit Section, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Playing style
In their book R.F. and H.L. Doherty - On Lawn Tennis (1903) multiple Wimbledon champions Reginald and Lawrence Doherty described Clothier's playing style:
Clothier has copied Whitman, but is not so good. His twist service is much the same as Whitman's, and he always follows it up to the net, He volleys well, and is especially severe overhead. His volleying is considerably superior to his ground strokes.
On Lawn Tennis - 1903[6]
Grand Slam finals
Singles (1 title, 2 runners-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1906 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | Beals Wright | 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |
Loss | 1907 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | William Larned | w/o |
Loss | 1909 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | William Larned | 1–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–1, 1–6 |
Mixed doubles: (1 runner-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1912 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | Eleonora Sears | Mary Kendall Browne Richard Williams | 4–6, 6–2, 9–11 |
References
- ^ a b "Hall of Famers - William Clothier". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ "Clothier Beats Wright for the Tennis Title" (PDF). The New York Times. 30 Aug 1906. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ "Champion Larned Retains his Title" (PDF). The New York Times. 28 Aug 1909. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ "Davis Cup - Profile William Clothier". ITF. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ "William Clothier, 86, Spy and Tennis Star". The New York Times. 3 Nov 2002. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ Doherty, R.F. (1903). R.F. and H.L. Doherty on Lawn Tennis (1st ed.). London: Lawn Tennis. pp. 62–63.
External links
- William Clothier at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
- William Clothier at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- William Clothier at the International Tennis Federation
- William Clothier at the Davis Cup
- v
- t
- e
- 1881: Richard Sears
- 1882: Richard Sears
- 1883: Richard Sears
- 1884: Richard Sears
- 1885: Richard Sears
- 1886: Richard Sears
- 1887: Richard Sears
- 1888: Henry Slocum
- 1889: Henry Slocum
- 1890: Oliver Campbell
- 1891: Oliver Campbell
- 1892: Oliver Campbell
- 1893: Robert Wrenn
- 1894: Robert Wrenn
- 1895: Frederick Hovey
- 1896: Robert Wrenn
- 1897: Robert Wrenn
- 1898: Malcolm Whitman
- 1899: Malcolm Whitman
- 1900: Malcolm Whitman
- 1901: William Larned
- 1902: William Larned
- 1903: Laurence Doherty
- 1904: Holcombe Ward
- 1905: Beals Wright
- 1906: William Clothier
- 1907: William Larned
- 1908: William Larned
- 1909: William Larned
- 1910: William Larned
- 1911: William Larned
- 1912: Maurice McLoughlin
- 1913: Maurice McLoughlin
- 1914: R. Norris Williams
- 1915: Bill Johnston
- 1916: R. Norris Williams
- 1917: Robert Lindley Murray
- 1918: Robert Lindley Murray
- 1919: Bill Johnston
- 1920: Bill Tilden
- 1921: Bill Tilden
- 1922: Bill Tilden
- 1923: Bill Tilden
- 1924: Bill Tilden
- 1925: Bill Tilden
- 1926: René Lacoste
- 1927: René Lacoste
- 1928: Henri Cochet
- 1929: Bill Tilden
- 1930: John Doeg
- 1931: Ellsworth Vines
- 1932: Ellsworth Vines
- 1933: Fred Perry
- 1934: Fred Perry
- 1935: Wilmer Allison
- 1936: Fred Perry
- 1937: Don Budge
- 1938: Don Budge
- 1939: Bobby Riggs
- 1940: Don McNeill
- 1941: Bobby Riggs
- 1942: Ted Schroeder
- 1943: Joe Hunt
- 1944: Frank Parker
- 1945: Frank Parker
- 1946: Jack Kramer
- 1947: Jack Kramer
- 1948: Pancho Gonzales
- 1949: Pancho Gonzales
- 1950: Arthur Larsen
- 1951: Frank Sedgman
- 1952: Frank Sedgman
- 1953: Tony Trabert
- 1954: Vic Seixas
- 1955: Tony Trabert
- 1956: Ken Rosewall
- 1957: Mal Anderson
- 1958: Ashley Cooper
- 1959: Neale Fraser
- 1960: Neale Fraser
- 1961: Roy Emerson
- 1962: Rod Laver
- 1963: Rafael Osuna
- 1964: Roy Emerson
- 1965: Manuel Santana
- 1966: Fred Stolle
- 1967: John Newcombe
- 1968: Arthur Ashe
- 1969: Rod Laver
- 1970: Ken Rosewall
- 1971: Stan Smith
- 1972: Ilie Năstase
- 1973: John Newcombe
- 1974: Jimmy Connors
- 1975: Manuel Orantes
- 1976: Jimmy Connors
- 1977: Guillermo Vilas
- 1978: Jimmy Connors
- 1979: John McEnroe
- 1980: John McEnroe
- 1981: John McEnroe
- 1982: Jimmy Connors
- 1983: Jimmy Connors
- 1984: John McEnroe
- 1985: Ivan Lendl
- 1986: Ivan Lendl
- 1987: Ivan Lendl
- 1988: Mats Wilander
- 1989: Boris Becker
- 1990: Pete Sampras
- 1991: Stefan Edberg
- 1992: Stefan Edberg
- 1993: Pete Sampras
- 1994: Andre Agassi
- 1995: Pete Sampras
- 1996: Pete Sampras
- 1997: Pat Rafter
- 1998: Pat Rafter
- 1999: Andre Agassi
- 2000: Marat Safin
- 2001: Lleyton Hewitt
- 2002: Pete Sampras
- 2003: Andy Roddick
- 2004: Roger Federer
- 2005: Roger Federer
- 2006: Roger Federer
- 2007: Roger Federer
- 2008: Roger Federer
- 2009: Juan Martín del Potro
- 2010: Rafael Nadal
- 2011: Novak Djokovic
- 2012: Andy Murray
- 2013: Rafael Nadal
- 2014: Marin Čilić
- 2015: Novak Djokovic
- 2016: Stan Wawrinka
- 2017: Rafael Nadal
- 2018: Novak Djokovic
- 2019: Rafael Nadal
- 2020: Dominic Thiem
- 2021: Daniil Medvedev
- 2022: Carlos Alcaraz
- 2023: Novak Djokovic
- 2024: Jannik Sinner